Behavioural Insights Projects

In a vignette survey, teachers in primary, secondary and post-secondary vocational education were asked whether they would like to work more hours − with and without incentives. The survey shows that their willingness to do so can be increased to varying degrees by offering them bonuses, additional employee benefits and a combination of both. Why this experiment was conducted: teacher shortages The government has identified significant staff shortages in primary and secondary education. It is…

Institution: Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is preparing to deliver the next Census of Population and Housing (the Census) in 2021. BETA has partnered with the ABS to make it easier and more convenient for people to engage with the Census process.

Institution: Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC)

Team: Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)

Smart energy services and demand flexibility are increasingly important topics. Levels of awareness in an Irish context are uncertain, but engagement is low. We test different ways of framing information on engagement and intention to be flexible. We record flexibility preferences by activity and flexibility mechanisms.

Institution: Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)

Team: SEAI Behavioural Economics Unit

To better learn about the U.S. General Services Administration’s USAGov email audience, a bilingual survey was developed to include questions on preferred topics, preferred frequency of email communications, utility of emails, and audience demographics. USAGov sought to learn more about their email audience through the survey and by using behavioral insights to increase survey response.

Institution: General Services Administration (GSA)

Team: Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES)

The Ministry of Justice and Security developed a behavioural intervention aimed at inspiring individuals to adopt safe cyber practices: 'Valse email? Meld het via de meldknop' (Fake email? Report it using the report button). Thanks to this behavioural intervention, employees are ten times more likely to report suspicious emails internally. Moreover, click rates on links in suspicious emails have significantly decreased. Why this experiment was conducted: One in five SMEs have been victims of…

Institution: Netherlands Ministry of Justice and Security

A campaign was launched to encourage young people to get the catch-up vaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The campaign succeeded in promoting discussion and increased awareness of HPV as well as persuading young people to get vaccinated. Why this experiment was conducted: provide boys and girls with a vaccine they might not have received In 2022 and 2023, boys were invited for the first time and girls were invited again to get vaccinated against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV…

Institution: Dutch National Immunisation Programme

The Program of Applied Research on Climate Action in Canada (PARCA Canada) combines behavioural science (BeSci) insights and methods with robust policy analysis to promote climate action. One of the main areas of focus involves the launch of a longitudinal survey that will, over time, collect data on research questions of interest to the promotion of climate action in Canada (e.g. transportation, home energy use, waste management, engagement with nature, preparedness for extreme weather,…

Institution: Impact and Innovation Hub (IIU)- Impact Canada

Team: Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU)

BETA is working with the Department of Social Services to evaluate the effectiveness of various behaviourally informed approaches on increasing workplace giving.

Institution: Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC)

Team: Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)

In regions marked by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV), entrepreneurs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face increased risk of experiencing chronic stress and poor mentalhealth. In turn, this can lead to poor psychological outcomes, hamper their business performance,and weaken the benefits of existing financial and business assistance programs. The World Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation (FCI) Global Practice, in collaboration with the Mind, Behavior, and…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

Despite email alert systems having a large reach, email can be a difficult platform to spread awareness. BETA partnered with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) to find ways of boosting the impact of an email alert system. We applied behavioural insights to the email design to bolster its effects, and tested these different design aspects using a randomised controlled trial. Subscribers were randomly assigned to receive an alert with one or more of our new design features (or a…

Institution: Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC)

Team: Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)